Manu to start vs. Cavs

Morning shootaround didn’t do much to clear up the greatest mystery surrounding the Cavaliers: LeBron James’ status for tonight’s game will be decided at tipoff.

Shootaround did provide one pressing answer for the Spurs: With Tony Parker out for the foreseeable future, Manu Ginobili will return to the starting lineup.

Ginobili will start at shooting guard in Cleveland, with George Hill shifting to the point. It will mark just the second start of the season for Ginobili, a former NBA Sixth Man of the Year. The other start, Ginobili notes, “was not a happy one” — he left that Nov. 18 game at Dallas after 7:28 with a groin strain.

Ginobili admits returning to the starting lineup will be an adjustment.

“I’m afraid I’m going to shoot at the wrong rim,” he joked. “I’m used to seeing the guys do it first, and then I come in off the bench.”

The choice of Ginobili as a new starter — over say, Roger Mason Jr. or Richard Jefferson — says a couple things. Gregg Popovich obviously believes, with Parker shelved, he needs a creator in the starting lineup. This also seems to signal a plan to increase Ginobili’s minutes from the 27:30 per game he’d been averaging.

It will be interesting to see how Ginobili’s elevation to the starting lineup affects a bench that was leading the league in most relevant categories, in part because of his developing rapport with DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson.

“The minutes are going to be different, for sure,” Ginobiili said. “But it’s not a game between benches — it’s between starters, too. You just have to find a way where the team is most balanced.”

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More on LeBron: Cavs coach Mike Brown said after shootaround that if he had his druthers, James would sit tonight against the Spurs, just as he did Saturday at Milwaukee.

Brown would not close the door completely on the prospects of James playing, however. “If he fights me hard enough,” Brown said, “maybe I’ll let him play.”

James is dealing with some nagging ailments — a twisted ankle and a bruised quad — but Brown is most concerned about limiting his MVP’s minutes with the playoffs on the horizon. The way Cleveland’s schedule works out, if James sits tonight, he could enjoy a full week off.

“The thing that really spurs this is the schedule,” Brown said. “This is the opportune time for him to get some rest.”

James did not participate in the Cavs’ shootaround this morning, and left without speaking to reporters, except to offer a polite, “I’m good,” when asked how he felt.

“We’ll talk again this evening and see how he feels,” Brown said. “It’s a decision he and I will talk about. The doctors aren’t even involved in this.”